Visiting the Pearl of Africa; Uganda Safari, People and Culture.It has been said by one legendary African scholar that Africans are a notoriously religious people. Whereas this may not be true of all African communities, it perfectly describes Ugandan communities. Ugandans are a steadfastly traditional and amiable people with customs rich enough to attract tourism on their own. Like all African communities, amiability towards visitors is a shared trait across Ugandan communities. Sociability is exalted above all virtues and individualism is treated with disdain. Uganda may not be the most developed nation in terms of technology and infrastructure, but her peoples are fully mature in the ethic of benevolence and civility making it one of the most welcoming safari destinations in the world.
A vibrant, youthful and fast growing population
As of 2018, Uganda’s total population is about 43 Million people. The Nation has one of the fastest growing populations on the continent with at least 200 new births per day. The average population density is 170 people per square Kilometer. The country’s population has grown by 507% since independence in 1962. In that blessed year, Ugandans totaled up to a mere 7.1 Million people. Uganda’s population is also one of the most youthful in the world, the national age average being 15. 75% of Uganda’s population is below the age of thirty! The number of women is higher than that of men, but only by a few hundred people, keeping the ratio of men and women at a steady 1.1.
Immense cultural diversity
Uganda takes the 4th position among the planet’s most heterogeneous countries. More than 65 different ethnic communities are recognized in the national constitution distributed across the country’s 241,559 Square kilometer territory. Each ethnic community speaks a distinct language and has unique customs. Even more, the patterns of dressing, dance, music, and art differ from community to community according to the origin of its peoples and the strength of their customs. Each community has their own way of life and their own staple foods.
Speaking of ethnic identity, Uganda’s migration history divides the nation’s tribes into five major ethnic groups; The Bantu, the Nilotics, the Nilo-hamites, and the Sudanic people. An ethnic group classifies people by origin, custom and language roots. The Bantu are the largest ethnic group in the country, and in Eastern, central, and southern Africa. The Bantu ethnic communities in Uganda include; The baganda (the largest tribe), the Basoga, the Bagishu, Banyankore, Bakiga, Batoro, Batwa, Banyoro, Bakonzo, Bafumbira, Bagwere, Banyarwanda, Basamia, Bahororo, Banyala, Bamba, Basongora, and several other smaller ethnic communities. If you notice, all the Bantu tribes have names beginning with a characteristic ‘Ba’ which literally means ‘the people of’. The Nilotics occupy the Northern part of Uganda. They include; the Acholi, Langi, and Kumam.
Safari Etiquette
Photography
Animals and wild life can be photographed without their consent, but people simply cannot. When it comes to photographing people in Uganda, the simple policy is, Ask and ye shall be given. Some tourists, displeasingly, disregard this simple principle and photograph people, especially children, randomly without their permission. In fact, some assertive Ugandan children have been seen attacking and throwing insults at tourists who take pictures of them without their consent. This natural reaction is a sign that the act is not only uncouth, but also intrinsically degrading and belittling. Photography should be done in a manner that respects people’s inherent dignity and accords them the full respect deserving of all rational beings.
The national parks do not regulate photography except for the simple rule that strongly disallows flash photography. In particular, Flash photography is forbidden when taking pictures of Mountain Gorillas which can disturb these gentle giants and make them sometimes aggressive . The common sense behind this rule is pretty clear and should be understandable to all nature lovers.
Tipping
Tipping customs vary from society to society according to the culture of the people, and the virtues they espouse. On a general level, however, the act of tipping is usually compelled by three main things. Some Ugandans tip out of gratitude — to appreciate an excellent service offered, others tip out of generosity — because they love the feeling of sharing what they have with somebody else. The third category tips out of empathy — because they sympathize with the working conditions of those who serve them and would like to do something to add life to it.
Unlike some cultures, Ugandans do not calculate their tips in percentages. A European, for instance, would want to give a 7% tip for every exceptional service, but Ugandans simply give what they are comfortable giving. Drivers, tour guides, and hotel staff usually get generous tips especially from foreign visitors, but they don’t always expect it. A tip should always come as a surprise. Some tourists have given away the entire balances from their safari budget. Others give spontaneously each time they happen to receive a really exceptional service. The bottom line is that the act is acceptable, and the choice of the amount to give is entirely giver’s.
Worth noting however, is that there is a general tacit convention is Uganda that prohibits giving money to little children; for the simple reason that it creates a begging attitude, or call it a dependency syndrome in them. However generous and empathetic a tourist may be, they are kindly asked not to give money to small children on the streets or the ones that live in the local tourist communities. Ugandans believe that if strangers keep on giving money to little children, they will slowly resort to begging as a quick source of livelihood, reinforcing the strong dependency syndrome that African communities are already trying to overcome.
Kampala. The Neutral Capital
Uganda’s ethnic diversity is indeed a beautiful thing to talk about, if only politics did not occasionally make it messy. The country’s capital city Kampala is a real confluence of diversity bringing Ugandans of different cultures together in the exercise of industry and the search for employment. The number of foreign residents is increasing too. Because everybody comes from somewhere, Kampala would be a difficult place to live in without a common language to unite the people. English and Swahili are the two main languages that have saved this beautiful city of seven hills from the fate of the biblical tower of Babel. The accents may differ according to the ethnicity of the speakers, but at least the people can communicate and understand each other. Different cultural festivals are organized in the city to provide entertainment and cultural education, and to create avenues for inter-cultural communication. There are several institutions of learning in the capital that offer affordable courses in African and international languages. There are also places of Worship for all the world’s major religions.
Religion
Christianity and Islam are the two dominant religions in Uganda. About 84% of Uganda’s population is Christian while 13% is Moslem. Hinduism is also quite popular in the country due to the ever increasing population of Indians and Arabs. Other religions include Judaism, Buddhism, Bahai faith, Sikh faith, and non-revealed traditional African religions. Of the Christians, the largest denomination is the Catholics who amount to 42% of the Christian population. Anglicans amount to 30% of the Christian population while the Pentecostals 15%. Only 0.9% of the national population is non religious. This number is made up of the elite population who prefer to align themselves more with humanism and ethics than with any religious doctrine. The right to freedom of religion is recognised and protected in Chapter 4 Article 29 of the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda, 2006. Kampala city is a neutral home for all religions. The city is filled with places of worship almost in every corner. The level of religious tolerance has improved greatly over the past two decades. The different religions in the country are united under the Inter religious council of Uganda. The body is a strong advocate for dialogue, tolerance, and non-violence in Uganda. It has been very instrumental in the mediation of religious, ethnic and political feuds in the country.
©Ellington Safaris 2018
